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Sex-Radical Feminists

Sex-radical feminism refers to a specific branch of feminist thought that aims at theorizing and combating sexual oppression rather than oppression based solely on gender (as more traditional feminist factions have). In an effort to politicize sexuality, sex-radical feminists attempt to reclaim “outlaw” or counter/ nonhegemonic sexualities as valid political, cultural, and sexual identities. By resisting criminalization, medicalization, and moral demonization of these “outlaw” sexual identities, sex-radical feminists actively and overtly challenge dominant cultural conceptions regarding so-called sexual minorities. Sex-radicals have engaged in debates regarding a variety of issues ranging from pornography, sex work, and non-“vanilla” or “kinky” sex practices including but not limited to cross-generational sex, multiple partner sex, bondage and discipline sadomasochism (BDSM), and public or anonymous sex to the construction, conceptualization, and performance of gender and sexuality. Sex-radical feminists have also been referred to as sex-positive feminists, anti-censorship feminists, or simply sex-radicals.

A discussion of sex-radical feminism is relevant to the study of gender and society because, in many ways, sex-radical thought has had a profound impact on how feminists engage with, theorize, and study expressions of human sexuality and gender. Additionally, sex-radicalism has provided scholars with useful frameworks for better understanding human sexuality. Finally, sex-radicalism renewed interest in the study of sexuality as a valid feminist (as well as academic) undertaking. This entry describes the beginnings of sex-radical feminism and its theoretical implications.

The Birth of Sex-Radicalism

By the late 1970s, definite feminist “positions” on issues such as pornography, sex work, and sadomasochism had been born. As conversations turned to heated debates, the issues of pornography and sex work became platforms upon which women voiced their viewpoints.

One group of feminists argued that porn, commercialized sex, and sadomasochism were forms of sexual violence against women. Yet as these feminists began lobbying for heightened governmental control and criminalization of sexually explicit materials and performances, more rigid anti-pornography laws targeting producers and distributors, and social scientific studies on the behavioral effects of viewing pornography, another group of feminists were mobilizing around issues such as women's sexual agency and empowerment, entitlement to sexual pleasure, and anti-censorship initiatives. The former were referred to as radical feminists, and the latter as sex-radical feminists.

Radical Feminists

Radical feminists argued (in varying degrees and with varying success) that pornography, penetration, BDSM, and commercialized sex practices were patriarchal, and that it would be impossible to know “true” female desire as long as women's sexuality was wedded to patriarchy.

Additionally, some argued that women's sexuality was inherently gentle, loving, sensual, and nonviolent, but men's sexuality was aggressive, genital, non-emotional, and lustful, thusly constructing gender as dichotomous and conflating gender identity with sexuality. More critically, prominent radical feminists argued that all heterosexual sex practices constituted institutionalized rape, and the oppression of women by men was due primarily to sexual and reproductive capabilities rather than the sexual division of labor.

Finally, pornography was theorized as the means by which all men commit violence against women. Pornography, they argued, informed all viewers that women were mere objects that could be beaten, abused, raped, and tortured at will, and any woman who participated in pornography (either the production or the consumption) did so either against her will or in anti-feminist collusion with men. In a theoretical move to further problematize sexuality under patriarchy, American feminists attempted to causally link violence against women to both pornography and sexualized depictions of women in the media.

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